Chicago becomes first major city to collect ‘Netflix tax’
Chicago is the first major city to collect what’s dubbed the “Netflix tax.”
The Windy City has raked in $2 million after imposing a 9 percent tax on companies like Sony and Fandango. The four-year old tax whose name comes from targetting streaming entertainment services is gaining attention from other cities and states.
“This is just a manifestation of other taxes that have come down the road,” Kingsview Assett Management’s Scott Martin said on FOX Business’ Bulls & Bears Thursday.
Chicago collected $1.2 million from Sony, $800,000 from Eventbrite, the U.S.-based event management and ticketing website. The city also garnered $70,000 from the movie ticketing company Fandango, according to Bloomberg.
Online sales taxes are a source of revenue for states looking to boost revenue.
FoxNews.com columnist Liz Peek said she finds it interesting that so many big blue cities have this constant quest for imposing new tax revenue on items such as bags and sodas.
“It really comes down to this sort of impossible economic problem that they created by paying municipal unions too much, making too many promises down the road,” she said.
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Last year, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that states can require online retailers to collect sales taxes.
